Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus Friday postponed the christening of the future USS Zumwalt, which was scheduled to take place next week at Bath Iron Works.

The Zumwalt will be named for the late Navy Adm. Elmo R. Zumwalt Jr., who served as chief of Naval Operations from 1970 to 1974. Zumwalt died in January 2000 at the age of 79.

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"It is incredibly unfortunate that we are being forced to cancel the christening ceremony for this great warship," Mabus said. "But the ongoing government shutdown prevents us from being able to honor Admiral Zumwalt's memory with a ceremony befitting his and his family's legacy of service to our Nation and our Navy."

A spokesman for Bath Iron Works said although the shipyard was looking forward to the christening ceremony on Oct. 19, the postponement does not affect scheduling or work on the ship.

"Up until this morning when we learned that the christening had been postponed, we were working full bore," Jim DeMartini said.

Construction on the ship began in 2009 and it is expected to be delivered to the Navy during fiscal year 2104. DeMartini said he expects the ship likely will be at the shipyard for another year to 18 months.